I've been lurking on these forums for 6-7 weeks. My SWOMBO bought me a base kit with a Bavarian Hefe, and I eagerly just followed what were very basic instructions. Ultimately the only rule I didn't break was "sanitize" since everything was all new and it seemed logical to overclean.
After racking into the carboy I started reading and learning I realized I did a lot wrong and corrected as best I could. I can definitely taste an 'extract' twang (it's best described as a can of coke vs. the soda fountains - just has that... twang of concentrate), but it's pretty damn good for a first attempt. I had an absolute blast, and this actually tastes like a decent hefeweizen! I have a second raspberry wheat in the hopper (partial mash), cannot wait for that to come out, and my first all-grain kit is on it's way. If this is what a pure LME tastes like with fermentation happening at 75-80, I am definitely hooked on home brewing.
All I can say to anyone new to brewing - it's really, really hard to completely screw up a batch. There was not much more I could do wrong, and another 7 days of carbonation will make this a pretty decent batch.
EDIT / P.S: Home brew certainly has a bigger kick to it than commercial brew. wow.
After racking into the carboy I started reading and learning I realized I did a lot wrong and corrected as best I could. I can definitely taste an 'extract' twang (it's best described as a can of coke vs. the soda fountains - just has that... twang of concentrate), but it's pretty damn good for a first attempt. I had an absolute blast, and this actually tastes like a decent hefeweizen! I have a second raspberry wheat in the hopper (partial mash), cannot wait for that to come out, and my first all-grain kit is on it's way. If this is what a pure LME tastes like with fermentation happening at 75-80, I am definitely hooked on home brewing.
All I can say to anyone new to brewing - it's really, really hard to completely screw up a batch. There was not much more I could do wrong, and another 7 days of carbonation will make this a pretty decent batch.
EDIT / P.S: Home brew certainly has a bigger kick to it than commercial brew. wow.